Every Day Should Be Earth Day!

The Moon Maiden of Green Willow
by Warwick Goble, 1920

"The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard."
Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005), founder of Earth Day

Earth Day is April 22 and Arbor Day is April 27.  What better way to celebrate than sharing stories about our beautiful planet?

STORIES

The Circle of Life and the Clambake - A lovely story from the Wampanoag culture that encompasses the circle of life and caring for the earth.
http://tinyurl.com/kpdyaq

Earth Cakes, Sky Cakes – Folktale from Cambodia
http://tinyurl.com/dy6dsv

The Haudenosaunee Creation Story - Iroquois/Native American
https://www.oneidaindiannation.com/the-haudenosaunee-creation-story/

The Owl and the Deer - Cambodia

http://www.mekongwatch.org/peoplestory/zone1-story6.html

When The Earth and Sky Were Married - India
http://tinyurl.com/cw34y8

Why is the Sky So Far Away – Nigeria
https://reelrani.wordpress.com/2017/01/10/why-is-the-sky-so-far-away-an-african-folktale/

STORY COLLECTIONS

The Earth Stories Collection – “a cultural seed bank, a base of global educational resources for the construction (or reconstruction) of a deeply sustainable global society, based on social and economic justice, and values of peace and democracy; that is, the values of the Earth Charter.” Under the Principal sections 1-16 you will find stories to fit many areas including Ecological Integrity, Social Responsibility, and more.
https://theearthstoriescollection.org/en/earth-stories/

Forest Stories – 7 Tales from far-away lands - “Stories of forests, rivers, mountains, deserts and magical beings who call these places home. Journey to amazing places through these short stories and learn the wisdom of the forest.”
https://healingforest.org/2019/10/26/forest-stories/ 

Plants, Animals, Salt and Spirits: How People Live, Work and Talk About the Environment in Rural Cambodia, Laos and Thailand - The People’s Stories Project, launched in 2014 with three purposes: “ (1) To record legends, old tales, folklore and narratives, and access the local knowledge and experience over natural resource use…(2) To develop an environmental education tool kit…to bring about better governance of local resources, and; (3) To convey knowledge of local natural resource use and the richness of the world …providing a new point of view for observing natural resource management in the Mekong Region.”
http://www.mekongwatch.org/PDF/Booklet_PeopleStory.pdf

BOOKS

Earth Care – World Folktales to Talk About
A limited preview of this excellent book by Margaret ReadMacDonald. You can read some of the folktales online, but I know you will want a copy of your own. I know, I have it on my shelf!
http://tinyurl.com/aap7ug

Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children by Michael J. Caduto and JosephBruchac. “Beginning with Native American stories, this invaluable resource provides hands-on activities that inspire children to understand and appreciate Native American cultures and the Earth.”
https://www.amazon.com/Keepers-Earth-American-Environmental-Activities/dp/1555913857 

CRAFTS 

Enchanted Learning - Earth Day activities, crafts, and projects. 
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/earthday/

Housing A Forest – 20 Earth Day crafts and activities for kids. 
http://www.housingaforest.com/20-earth-day-crafts-and-activities-for-kids/

iheartcraftythings.com – 25 Earth Day Day crafts for kids. 
https://iheartcraftythings.com/25-earth-day-crafts-for-kids.html

CURRICULUM

Edutopia.org - Earth Day: Lesson Plans, Reading Lists, and Classroom Ideas - Resources from around the web. There is so much valuable information at this site you could be here for days. 
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/earth-day-lesson-plans-matt-davis

Field Trip Earth - A global resource for teachers, students and wildlife proponents offering educator resources, essays, and information on conservation projects around the world. 
https://fieldtripearth.org

The History Behind Earth Day 
https://www.earthday.org/history/

Planet Pals.com - This is a colorful, fun and information filled website on all things Earth: Lesson plans and activities for both teachers and parents, the history behind Earth Day, coloring pages, puzzles, clip art and so much more. 
http://www.planetpals.com/index.html 

SCHOLARLY ARTICLE

The Concept of Environment in Folktales from Different Cultures
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1060556.pdf

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2012 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Spring Forward! Stories of Sleep and Light

Sleeping Beauty by
Edmund Dulac

“Spring forward, fall back.” That is the mantra we learned as young children to remember when we turn our clocks ahead, and then back as the darkness of winter sets upon us.

Although we lost an hour of sleep today, turning our clocks ahead is our delightful teaser that spring is just around the corner. As the days move forward we will continue to enjoy more hours of light in the coming months. What will you do with your extra time in the sun?

Here are some stories of light from around the world.

STORIES

The Abode of the Gods: Time and the King of the Elements - Slavic
http://tinyurl.com/6nrxju9
The Blue Light – Germany
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0562.html#grimm
The Buried Moon - England
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/meft/meft24.htm

Light Makes Prosperity - India
http://tinyurl.com/7c4crnt
Crow Brings Daylight – Native American – Inuit
http://tinyurl.com/7zyzudr
The Origin of Light – Native American
http://tinyurl.com/85x6uhg
Raven Steals the Light – Native American
http://tinyurl.com/5lnq26

And of course, some stories to help you regain that lost hour of sleep!

The Dragon After His Winter Sleep - China

http://tinyurl.com/7qhhf6q
The Dreaming Tree - Brazil
http://spiritoftrees.org/the-dreaming-tree
Sleeping Beauty - France
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0410.html#perrault
Sleepy John – Czechoslovakian
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kog/kog08.htm

BOOK

Go To Sleep Gecko by Margaret Read MacDonald
http://www.amazon.com/Go-Sleep-Gecko-Balinese-Folktale/dp/0874837804

CRAFTS

Alphamom.com – Cute crafts for the young ones.
http://alphamom.com/family-fun/crafts/daylight-savings-crafts/

Enchanted Learning – Time and calendar activities.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/calendar.shtml

CURRICULUM

 Animated Tales of the World – Lesson plan for Raven Steals Daylight
 http://www.libraryvideo.com/guides/V6941.pdf

National Geographic – Get the Facts on daylight savings time!
http://tinyurl.com/849wwuv

Karen Chace 2012 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Surf War! A Book Review

Surf War!, based on a folktale from the Marshall Islands, The War Between the Sandpipers and the Whales, found in Peace Tales, is another superb offering by author and folklorist Margaret Read MacDonald.

The subtle, yet important, moral woven throughout the tale will resonant long after the book is placed back on the shelf.

The dialogue between the characters is very accessible for younger ears and effortlessly lends itself to the spoken word. The illustrations by Geraldo Valẽrio are gorgeous, so vibrant they are almost musical in their fluidity. The story and pictures are sure to capture the interest of any child, whether in the classroom, library, or home. Margaret has another hit on her hands!


Book cover image courtesy of AugustHouse.com